Max Kalehoff blogs at AttentionMax and is #13 on the October 2007 M20 list. He is currently the VP of Marketing at Nielsen Online and blogs about marketing, media, and life.
Here's more on Max.
* What is your URL and how long have you been blogging?
My blog is AttentionMax, and it's dedicated to my views on marketing, media and the intersection with my personal life. It has a big emphasis on interactive marketing, research and analytics, reflecting my career. It's been around since January 2006.
I've been blogging -- sort of -- since 2004, as I created BuzzMetrics' CEO blog as well as led the strategy for Hitwise's analyst blogging platform, when I was consulting for both of them. I've also been writing oped columns for MediaPost since 2004, and blogs are integrated into the email/Web publishing platform. I also created a video blog called Engagement By Engagement, which is in remission until there's some significant new momentum in advertising engagement. (But it's still the single richest place for industry viewpoints on engagement.)
* How did you first hear about blogs?
I think it was back when I worked at Media Metrix in 2000. Yes, even back then there were a handful of blogs and personal publishing platforms which met reporting standards in the syndicated media reports.
* Why did you decide to start blogging?
I started because I was curious -- plain and simple. That said, there are key reasons why I continue:
- It forces me to organize my thoughts and articulate them, or at least attempt to. Consequently, blogging forces you to be a better thinker and communicator.
- By exposing my thoughts, I tend to get discovered by other relevant people and build relationships with them. I get feedback from people on my ideas. Blogging forces you to understand your audiences and yourself better.
- I'm human and therefore I have a fundamental need for expression. The blog is one outlet for that.
- My blog cultivates my digital identity, including the picture Google paints of me. Many people Google me when they want to get to know me better, and my blogging activities rank very high in search results. My blog is a living resume, my trail of digital breadcrumbs.
- And as corny as this sounds, the blog is a great way to personally assimilate with a Web site, and dramatically sharpen one's interactive marketing skills. I consider myself a perpetual student of interactive marketing and my blog is one of the best ongoing lessons in Web publishing, syndication, design, analytics, experience, archiving, multimedia integration, search optimization, domain management, community management, advertising, etc.
* What process, if any, did you work through from a corporate perspective?
For the record, my blog is independent from my employer, and I'm legally required (as most of us are) to comply with standard corporate electronic communications policies while serving as an employee. I try to avoid blogging directly about my company, unless there is some very material or relevant development consistent with my blog's focus. Instead, I try to cover larger trends and observations that are in alignment with my industry and company.
While independent, I believe my blogging directly benefits my work because it enables me to have a more compelling voice in my industry; it's a platform for ideas and it empowers two-way communications with key stakeholders. In fact, I receive a lot of press interviews, speaking requests and sales inquiries through my blog. Importantly, I redirect a lot of my thinking and writing directly to workplace scenarios, whether it be tactical analysis or thought-leadership.
Finally, I emphasize that AttentionMax is my personal blog. It's a reflection of me, the person, the consumer, the husband, the new dad, the average suburban guy struggling to make sense of consumerism's marketing assault on my psyche. I'm not some faceless talking head, and I think that appeals to people. I was born with a certain level of honest sarcasm which I can't pretend to withhold, and some people love that while others can't stand it.
* What are your most and least favorite aspects of blogging?
My favorite aspect of blogging is the process of organizing my thoughts and presenting them. I also like experimenting from a Web publishing standpoint, including the technical aspects of interactive which I mentioned above. I also like getting feedback, whether through comments or directly via email, or in person. Blogging tends to introduce you to people who you otherwise never would've met, so that's pretty cool.
My least favorite aspects are when other bloggers are rude to you; some forget there's a real person on the other end. And as much as I like the technical aspect of blogging, technical meltdowns can get frustrating. Fortunately, I have supportive friends to help me there.
* What would you change with 20/20 hindsight?
I would've adopted the Wordpress platform from day one (versus Moveable Type), and I would've started AttentionMax two years earlier than I did.
* What three blogs have you gained the most insight from in the past month?
- I really enjoy Scott Karp's Publishing 2.0. He just has some incredibly sharp analysis on the future of media, and, because of his independence, is never afraid to address the elephant in the room. It is through our blogs that Scott and I actually became friends. Publishing2 is required daily reading for me.
- Next on my list is Fred Wilson's A VC. Aside from having a great run as a Web 2.0 venture capitalist, and having invested in a few of my employers over the years, his insights are invaluable. I'll often find myself in various analytical problem-solving situations and ask myself: "What would Fred say?" His spirit guides me.
- And for as much as I can disagree with him, I highly value Jeff Jarvis's BuzzMachine. The guy can write, and he has an incredible ability to hone his point of view. Even if I think his arguments are overly ideological, he gets me thinking.
You only asked for three, but I also pay attention to my colleague Pete Blackshaw. I also pay attention to you. For anyone interested in which blogs I direct my attention, see my blogroll on AttentionMax. I recently cut my blog blog feeds from about 250 to 70. I'm finding I get more value out of paying attention to fewer versus more.
* Anything else?
Another thing that I think is kind of eerie, but also kind of cool, is that my blog will be around longer than me. Blogs are major manifestations of our identity, and the prospect of them living on far after our time on earth is an interesting one. With so many millions blogging, imagine the rich personal accounts that future generations will have when researching and interpreting history.
I also am curious about the splintering nature of electronic expression. Sure, I nurture my blog, but I'm also active on a host of other digital communication platforms, like Twitter and Facebook. I suppose the individuality of my blog will keep me going indefinitely. I've never been so loyal to any other social-media platform, other than my AIM account.
Finally, I consider myself a perpetual novice, constantly in experimentation mode. So any constructive feedback from anyone is welcomed.
[If you're a client-side marketer and would like to be profiled - even if you're not in the top 20 - send in your story! See this post for details.]
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